Paralysed Love
by The Andromeda Rose
Summary: What happens if Sonic is in an accident during the 2012 London Olympic games trying to protect the one he loves?  What if he can't walk anymore and his love doesn't love him?  Mario/Sonic crossover


**A/N: Everytime I thought of Mr. Deber's voice, I kept hearing Mrs. Doubtfire's voice. It's starting to creep me out as well as irritate me because I can't get it out of my head when I do Deber's lines! Ugh! Also, Shadow, Silver & Sonic are NOT GAY. This is NOT a yaoi story. Nevertheless, yes, this is based off TASH&MB2 with Shadow's injury, & off of the "Hidden Secrets" story.**

**So, anywho…Enjoy!**

**Andi**

**XXX**

Paralysed Love

By: The Andromeda Rose

Chilly air. Gray walls surrounding several long tables with only ten officials to man them. The officials were registering the athletes, which were divided into two lines: the males' line, & the females' line.

A female lilac cat, however, stood waiting in the male's line holding a registration form, which assessed the athletes' interests & abilities.

The cat stepped forward to the registration table handing her form over to an official who immediately after skimming through the papers pointed to where the females stood in a large group, "Miss Blaze, you are in the wrong line."

"No, I'm not." she fished through the papers & pulled out another form, & pointed to the signature on the paper indicating that she would be placed in both of the sexes' events, "I'm supposed to be in both the men's events as well as the women's."

Tilting his glasses down & rereading through the papers, his eyebrows shot up like frightened caterpillars, "Oh! I see. Yes, you are in the men's events, yes. Your primary choice," he continued, "is with the males; your secondary choice is with the females." with that, he made a copy of the forms & handed them back to Blaze, "Have a good day, miss."

"Thank you, sir." she said politely as she grasped the papers, stuffed them in her bag, & trotted away.

Now, with the situation ironed out, Blaze walked contentedly over to where the guys (which also housed Silver, her best friend) congregated into one large clump waiting for their English guide, who, would take them to their residing dorms for the duration of the Olympic Games.

"Hiya, Blaze!" Silver called out, "What are you doing here? You should be with the girls."

"I was placed in the men's category, but I'll be playing both the men's & women's."

"I wonder why you, of all the girls, were placed with us guys." the silver hedgehog put his arm around his friend's shoulder.

Sonic rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then called out mischievously with a grin that could rival the Cheshire Cat, "Maybe they placed Blaze with us because she's a tomboy!"

"Hey, I might be a tomboy, but I'm still a girl, Sonic." this was true, even though Blaze did play in a very boisterous manner, she did enjoy some things that girls like, like wearing makeup or wearing dresses-the latter being something she would only wear to a party or formal ball held by her kingdom.

"Heh, yeah." Silver nudged the cat. With his next sentence, Blaze blushed violently, "She's a beautiful red rose in the midst of several ugly thorns."

"Silver!" with her cheeks possibly redder than a burgundy rose, Blaze elbowed Silver in the side, causing him to yelp in surprise.

All of this was ended, however, when their guide came to lead them to their dorms they would be staying in for the Summer, "Men, I would like your attention please," began a stern-looking man dressed in black pants & a navy blue dress shirt. His voice sounded about as stern as he looked, "my name is Mr. Deber. I will be your dorm father over the course of the Summer." he gestured to the women next, "The lady athletes will be housed in the building across the courtyard from your building. I do not want any mischievous behaviour otherwise you shall be disqualified for the rest of the Summer's Games. You also have a curfew of twenty-one hundred & thirty hours. Absolutely no alcohol, illegal drugs, or smoking allowed in the dorm buildings. Understood?"

"Understood." repeated the athletes.

"Good. I will post a set of rules in each of the dorm rooms as well as in the hallways for reference & additional rules. Any questions?"

Knuckles the Echidna raised his hand, "I have one."

"Yes?"

"Since Blaze is a part of the guys, where will she be?"

"Oh, yes; good question." he thought for a moment, "She will stay in a room of her own."

"Well, you heard the man, Blaze, you're staying with us!" Silver grasped the lilac cat around her waist, pulling her toward the building.

"That's Mr. Deber to you!" the austere man shot back as his response.

"Those two…one could never separate them." Sonic shook his head as he watched the two run in the building together. A jolt of jealousy shot through him as he did so.

The fox kit, having seen this, tugged at Sonic's cobalt blue fur, "Sonic, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." he tried ignoring the kit's words, "C'mon guys; let's go get set up for the Summer." he grabbed his two bags & proceeded quickly inside, leaving a bewildered fox & mix of other animal breeds behind.

"Sonic?" the kit asked softly as he sat atop his suitcase as everyone else left for his or her dorm.

The echidna, Knuckles, walked by the kit, but glanced back when he noticed that he wasn't following along behind him as he usually would when Sonic wasn't around. He continued on, that is, until he reached the glass doors of the building & turned around once again: the fox still wasn't coming. He sighed. He knew the fox all too well. When Sonic ignored Tails, Tails would become very depressed at times.

"Come here." Knuckles scooped the young fox up & onto his shoulders for a ride.

"Wha? Knuckles?" the kit peered over the echidna's head to see two violet eyes looking back up at him with a, "What's your problem?" sort of expression.

"I can't just leave you out here when it's going to rain later on, now can I?" his words seemed to bite back to the young kit, since the echidna has had very little social experience save for the occasional visits to his Floating Island by a certain blue maniac whose favourite task to do on the island was wait until its Guardian was napping by the Master Emerald's podium & see just how close he could get to it before the echidna's razor-sharp ears could pick him up & he gets caught as he runs away at Super Sonic Speed with a howling echidna tossing threats of twisting his body into a pretzel & other unsightly shapes. **(A/N: I know, VERY long sentence, but I enjoyed writing every word of it! :D I keep laughing & grinning at the very thought of watching this very scene between Sonic & ol' Knucklehead)**

"I…guess not." the kit rested his head atop the echidna's, ears still flattened against his skull as Knuckles walked back into the building. A long silence before either one said anything.

"Is Sonic okay?" began the Guardian, "He seemed upset about something."

"Well, he isn't exactly upset;" the kit began clarifying warily, unsure if he should continue, "it's that he's jealous of Silver."

"Sonic? Jealous?" the echidna glanced up at the kit, wondering if this might be a prank or something, "Why would he be jealous of Silver?"

"Because Blaze likes Silver."

"You mean to say that Sonic has a crush on Blaze?"

The kit perked up, Knuckles had an attendancy to be blunt at times, but could make muddy water crystal clear in seconds. "Uh, yes." Miles touched his lips thoughtfully, "He's had a crush on her ever since she came to our dimension to find the Sol Emeralds & defeat Eggman Nega."

"Sonic likes Blaze." the echidna smiled, "No wonder he doesn't want to date Amy."

"Yeah, that's another reason. Boy, if Amy ever found out that he likes Blaze better than her, I don't want to be in her warpath."

"You can say that again, kitsune." he shook his head, "Here's your room, Miles." he lifted the young fox off his shoulders & onto the carpeted floor, "Don't tell Sonic you told me about his crush on Blaze. He'd be embarrassed for weeks on end if he knew that you aren't the only one who knows. Understood?"

"Yes, Knuckles. I wouldn't have told Sonic anyway. He'd turn as red as you if I did."

Knuckles chuckled, "Alright. I'll see you later, kiddo."

"Alright. Bye, Knuckles!"

The kit glanced to the door realising that he had no key to unlock it, "Sonic! Sonic, open up! I don't have a key!" he knocked on the door multiple times until Luigi came to open the door & let him in.

"Sorry, Tails. Didn't Mr. Deber give you a key?"

"Nuh-uh. I wasn't here. I was with Knuckles." he looked around the room, noticing that Sonic wasn't in it, "Aren't Sonic, Silver, Shadow & I supposed to be in this room?"

"Yeah, but Mr. Deber moved Mario & I in with you guys so Jet & Bowser could have a place to sleep since three beds can't be used until they're moved out of Blaze's room. & Knuckles requested a room of his own so he can guard the Master Emerald-something the staff couldn't refuse since he is its Guardian & if anything ever happened to the Emerald, it'd be complete chaos on Earth." he gestured to the extra space, "These rooms are meant to hold up to eight to ten athletes each, but they're trying to give the athletes more space by putting only four in-but it's not working out too well."

"Oh, I see. Are you guys going to be bunking with us over the Summer, then?"

"Sì, we are." answered the green plumber's red brother, "It's going to be one heck of a Summer with six of us living in the same room."

"Heh, it sure will!" Silver cried out happily, unknowingly that he was predicting their Summer…

XXX

Early morning, & the alarm clock was going off.

"Turn that thing off!"

"Yeah, it's seven o'clock in the morning!"

"Geesh, guys," Sonic quickly turned off the annoying clock, "you're not the ones getting up; I am. Besides, you had better get used to it, 'cause I always wake up at this hour to go out & run. My day starts _now."_

"Good. Now get going."

"Okay, okay!" Sonic raise his hands in defence & grabbed a towel from his suitcase, "I'm leaving you guys alone so I can get ready." Sonic opened the bathroom door, making a mental note that disturbing sleeping friends is the worst thing you could do unless you want Kuribo's Shoe to stomp on you on the spot.

Minutes later, the Blue Blur was ready to start the day off at Super Sonic Speed! -if he could only find his shoes in that dark room.

XXX

Sonic took a deep breath of the cold, crisp morning air. Nothing smelled better than this! Morning is his favourite time of day because not only the crispness of the air wakes you up, but also the sunrise was beautiful at this time too.

_Grrruuummmble! _He moaned in disgust as his stomach interrupted this morning moment, "Do you have o ruin everything?" he shot back at his stomach, but only received another grumble from it, "Ah, alright, you win. I won't argue with you." he commented as he shot off in a blue blur, making his way to the cafeteria.

"Good morning, Mr. Sonic!" called out an elderly woman with a pale blue apron on, "Hungry?"

"You bet, miss!" he gave her a thumbs up, "& don't call me "Mr. Sonic," just call me "Sonic" instead."

"Okay, Sonic." she smiled, handing him a tray & plate, "By the way, don't call _me_ "miss," I'm "Martha." "

He grinned widely, "Okay, Miss Martha."

"I said not to call me that." she scolded gently.

He shook his head, "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't disrespect my elders."

She smiled thoughtfully, but inside she was blushing, "You're such a kind young fellow."

"Thank you, Miss Martha. My words to live by be that you can't get by in life without politeness." he winked at the elderly woman.

"That's true. Very true." she picked up a spoon, "Would you like anything from here?" she stepped behind the counter, motioning to the delicious food.

"I didn't come here for nothing." he grinned, closing his eyes, he inhaled the aroma of breakfast, "Sure. I'll have some scrambled eggs, homefries, a salad, & water, if you please, Miss Martha."

"Okay, eggs & homefries coming up. The salad & water is at the end of this counter." she pointed to the very end of the counter where a register stood.

"Thanks, ma'am!"

"You're welcome, Sonny."

Sonic chuckled at his new nickname, "See ya, Miss Martha!" he called as he raced up to the end & grabbed his desired items, "Heh, good thing this little card pays for the athletes' meals!" he swiped the card through the slot. This was the best little piece of plastic he's ever seen! It wasn't money; it was actually a sort of special privilege card that the athletes got for being in the Olympic Games, which gave them free complimentary meals whenever they like.

He picked up his tray with his load of food & headed for the table, that is, when he spotted the violet cat sitting at one of them, he almost tripped, for he lost some of his concentration.

"Hey, it's Blaze." he smiled as he walked up to the cat, "Hiya Blaze! Can I sit with you? There ain't no other tables around, & it'd be pretty lonely to sit alone at this hour."

"Oh, hi, Sonic." she patted the seat beside her, "Sure, you can sit with me."

"Thanks." he took his seat next to the cat. Butterflies rushing through him as he did so, "Uh…" he tried to think of something to talk about, "what are you doing up at this hour?"

"Me? I like exercising in the mornings. What about you?"

"Pretty much the same here too, but I like running at all times of the day, but morning's my favourite time to do so." he opened his bottle of water nervously, "Would you…like to go running with me after breakfast?"

"Sure, but I'm not sure if I could keep up with your speed."

"Hey, I can run slow too!" he mock-teased, "I'll run slow so you can keep up, Blaze."

"You will? Ah, thanks Sonic." she bite into her apple, "Doing some things alone is fine, but with friends it's better."

"With friends, it's _always_ gonna be better!" he gave her a thumbs up & a wink, "Now c'mon, we gotta get out there before the Sun decides he's going to heat up the world!"

"Okay," she smiled, though she mentally pinched herself for showing this much emotion, for it is her duty as Guardian of the Sol Emeralds to not show emotion, "let's get going."

"Y'know what, Blaze?"

"Uh…w-what?" she flinched, wondering if she did something wrong.

"That's the first time I've seen you smile in a very long time!" he inched closer to the cat, his coarse blue fur almost touching her soft lavender fur, "I like it when you smile, Blaze."

"Oh! It is?" she blushed, laying her hand on her chest, she seemed very insecure, "I-I…you do?"

"Yeah, I love it when you smile, Blaze!" he smiled, reassuring her. Grabbing their trays, he raced off & came back in seconds, then he pulling her into a standing position, added before taking off once again, "Now come on! Let's go to Crystal Peak!"

The cat's eyes widened as the hedgehog pulled her along behind, "W-what? Sonic!"

XXX

Finally coming to a halt at Crystal Peak, a mountain named for the crystal clear view of Britain, the cobalt hedgehog turned to see Blaze's reaction at the view.

The cat backed away from the cliff they stood at, "Please, n-not here! Sonic, can we go down now?"

"Why? It's gorgeous up here!" he brought her back near the edge, unaware of Blaze's fear of heights, "Just look at the places we're going to play the Games at! Wow!"

"Sonic, no!" she backed up, terrified, only to back against the hedgehog, "…& I thought Altitude Limit Zone was bad! This is worse!"

"Blaze, what's wrong?" he tried asking the cat, but she didn't answer. She was in a sort of panic.

"Sonic, take me down from here, please! I don't want to be up this high!"

Why didn't she want to be up this…? Oh…now it made sense. Wrapping his arms around her & rubbing her back, he spoke soothingly to her to calm her down, "Are you afraid of heights?"

She nodded slowly, still staring off the cliff, "Y-yes."

"Oh, I didn't know that. I'm sorry, Blaze." he pulled her away from the cliff, "C'mon, let's get down from here."

XXX

"Gee, Blaze," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I sure am sorry. I feel real bad about taking you there now."

"It's okay, Sonic, you didn't know I was afraid of heights when you took me up there, so it's not your fault."

"But I shoulda asked before I even mentioned Crystal Peak."

"But I already agreed to going out on a run with you."

"Blaze…" he mumbled. She did have a point in a way.

"Sonic, let's forget this & finish our run. Okay?"

He crossed his arms, "Oh, okay." he spotted the courtyard up ahead, "Heh, last one to the courtyard is a rotten Eggman!"

"No fair! You can run faster than I!"

"I'll play fair."

"Deal."

XXX

Several weeks passed, & Sonic & Blaze would go out on runs together every morning. This increased Sonic's love for the cat, but for Blaze, not quite. She _liked_ Sonic as a friend, but she didn't exactly _love_ him…or does she?

XXX

Shadow sat at the table, sipping his coffee & reading the paper, that is, until Sonic started whining about something.

"Ah, man…" a blue hedgehog stood staring at a piece of paper hung on the dorm door.

The Ultimate Lifeform didn't even look up from the article he was reading-after four weeks of living with two pasta obsessed plumbers, a white hedgehog who threw things with his telekinesis in his sleep, a fox with an appetite for snails, _**&**_ a running-happy, hyper hedgehog who had a haunted mansion for a house that creaked eerily at insanely random moments-even when the house was in its best shape & not a bolt or nail was loose-with a burial ground for a basement, he could handle _anything_ when it came to living with these guys, including Sonic's morning routine **(A/N: Yes, I know, another loooong sentence that I enjoyed writing!)**, "What're you whining about now, Faker?"

"Hey! I resent that." he retorted back to his black counterpart, but eventually continued whining_, "Swimming_ today."

"Swimming isn't that hard, brother." he stated, entirely emotionless.

"Oh, yeah? Maybe for you it isn't, but for me, it is."

"We'll see about that." he continued, sipping his tea, "Now quit your poppycock over the schedule & let's get going. We're going to be late for practice."

XXX

At the swimming pool, Sonic wore a lifejacket as he has always done when he'd swim. For his fear of water, & the fact that he cannot swim, allowed him to get by & still participate in the Summer Games without being disqualified.

Blaze, however, did not like water either, but she could swim without a lifejacket properly.

Sonic felt nothing but pure humiliation as he glared at the water & the lifejacket he held in hand.

He noticed Blaze, Sliver, & Amy, across the pool from him. When she waved to him, he blushed glancing away for a moment, quite embarrassed. This caused the lilac cat to giggle lightly at his reaction, but the pink hedgehog fumed at the sight. Enraged, she started across the pool toward her self-proclaimed "boyfriend," Sonic.

Now, with more confidence, Sonic ignored Amy's rash behaviour, & proceeded to slowly climb into the water, preparing for several laps across this enormous & deep pool _without_ the aid of the safety jacket. Something he knew he shouldn't do, but wanted to try in spite of it. The cool water soaked through his fur, startling him.

Noticing the anxious hedgehog, the red clad plumber-this time, in red swim trunks instead of his overalls & red shirt-swam up to the cobalt hedgehog, "You okay, Sonic?"

"Uh…yeah." he tried swimming toward the plumber… "Yeah, I'm oh-oh-kaay!" …only to come face to face with the _deep_ end of the pool. He thrashed about in the deep water, coughing up nasty chlorine flavoured water as he managed to break the barrier of water & air…only to sink like a stone back to the bottom.

"Sonic!" Mario dove under, & hauled the poor blue creature back to the edge of the pool.

Shadow, as well as Luigi & several of the others ran up to the duo. "Are you okay, Sonic?" the ebony hedgehog inquired as he used his arms to help support his doppelganger so he could sit upright.

Sonic cringed as the bubblegum-pink hedgehog approached their little group, "What's the meaning of this, Sonic?"

"The meaning of what?" he stood up. He knew exactly what she meant…

"Of you & that lilac cat, Blaze!" she howled at the male, "I saw you wave to her!"

"Yeah, I did wave to Blaze, Amy!" he shot back, more embarrassed than angry.

"Why didn't you wave to me then?"

"Because Amy…" his face turned a crimson red as he glanced to the lilac cat not a few feet away from them, _"I really like_ _Blaze."_

Silver's ears pricked up in surprise & shock. He felt a lump grow in his throat, "You like Blaze?"

"B-Blaze?" Amy cried angrily at her hero, "What's she got that I haven't?"

"A lot." that one answer said it all. Blaze was a whole lot better than Amy was. In looks, intelligence, personality, & tons of other things.

"Sonic, how could you?" Amy yelled as she grabbed Sonic's shoulders & shook him violently.

"Amy, enough of this!" turning to the pink hedgehog still holding onto him, he shoved her away from him, beginning sternly, "I'm sick & tired of you following me around for years! Give it up! I never have & never will like you, Amy!"

"S-Sonic…?"

Oblivious to everyone around him, Sonic stepped toward the lilac cat, "Blaze…I-you…heard what I said." he glanced away, blushing as red a Shadow's stripes before he looked back up at the cat, "I like you-a-a lot, & I-er, I mean, do you like me-not as a friend, but more than one?" he watched her yellow eyes watch his emerald ones.

Blaze, meanwhile, fidgeted with her hands, unsure how to tell him what she wanted to say. She blushed a deep colour of rose when he told her, but… "Sonic…I-I'm-I'm sorry," she fidgeted anxiously, "but I don't like you as a more than a friend."

"Oh…" he started, "It-it's…" he looked down at his feet, humiliated. One minute, he was trying to show-off playfully, then rejected the next…especially in front of all his friends. That made it even worse.

"I-I'm sorry, Sonic." she didn't even know what to do, except the first thing that came to mind: leave. She turned, walking away hurriedly.

"Sonic?" Shadow knew his counterpart well, & if anything, it was that he was trying to hide his feelings right about now, especially the hurt in his eyes, "Sonic, are you…?"

"Lemme alone." he mumbled, walking slowly, then picked up speed to the men's locker rooms.

"Sonic?" Sonic's ears lifted slightly at the sound of Blaze's voice coming from one of the tables, but continued on walking, even when Blaze came up to him, "Sonic, are you okay? I didn't mean to be blunt about…what I said."

"Blaze," Sonic began, "you weren't blunt, & you didn't make excuses, or try to fake anything. You were being yourself, not someone else. That's one of the reasons why I like you, Blaze; you're yourself." he smiled at the cat, hurt still lingering in his eyes.

"Thank you." she smiled, kissing his cheek, forcing Sonic's now-smiling face to turn red all over again.

"Uhm…uh, y-you're welcome." he smiled nervously.

"Oh, & Sonic,"

"Yeah?"

"I think you did really well swimming without a lifejacket." she smiled as she watched his emerald eyes glance away for a moment, then smiled back at her.

"Thank you." his nervous smile still plastered on his face, before he ran away very quickly.

She giggled watching his reaction & as he ran off, still embarrassed, "You're welcome, Sonic. You're welcome."

Knuckles chuckled as he watched his friend run away from the cat embarrassed out of his wits, "At least his day isn't all that bad." with that said, the others couldn't help but laugh softly at this too, all except for Silver.

XXX

Several days passed, & whenever Blaze would go up in the men's events, Sonic would keep a close eye on her as he always has during the Olympic Games. He often times would warn her that some of the events were too masculine, or dangerous for her to do, especially the boxing tournaments. These events would scare Sonic & some of the others the most, especially when she'd go up against Knuckles, the strongest in the World & beyond. Sonic would keep a very close eye out for her when she'd fight with Knucklehead as well as himself & others, analysing every move they'd make. Often, even though Knuckles had told Sonic that he'd do his best to be careful when boxing with Blaze, & that he would try to fake some of the moves, he often came very close to seriously injuring her if his sharp reflexes hadn't kicked in & redirected the hit into the air, but if he didn't catch himself quickly, he often gave the cat bruises & scratches. These punches Sonic quickly picked up & learned to watch for certain signs, such as fatigue, a slightly shaky hand, or excessive sweating, that came with them when Knuckles would punch these specific punches.

Today, Blaze & Knuckles were scheduled to fight on live television, & Sonic would be right there watching every move as he had done during practices & other live events.

"Sonic, I wish you'd quit staring us down like one of us is going to get hurt!" Blaze yelled at the hedgehog, her independent side coming out full force-which didn't help since cats are normally independent & feisty creatures, "I'm not going to get hurt, I'm doing fine against Knuckles!"

"Blaze, Knuckles is much stronger than you are! Males are supposed to be stronger than females, not the other way around! You could get seriously hurt out there!" his eyes told all: from past battles with other males, he occasionally met his match. However, when dealing with females…that was another story. He often won those battles & injured the females enough that he would refuse to go on, even if it meant to drop his side of the battle, "I don't want you fighting him. It's too dangerous, Blaze."

"Sonic, let me do my own events, & you do yours. Quit telling me who I should & shouldn't fight!" she turned away from the hedgehog, leaving to go to the boxing ring.

"Blaze-!" Sonic ran up to the cat, only to be ignored as he jabbered on about why she shouldn't fight.

For Sonic, it was futile, but for Blaze, it worked.

The cat entered the ring, ready for the fight. Then the echidna came up next. The starting signal began the fight.

Sonic watched closely as the fight wore on, absolutely oblivious to the other things around him. Minutes passed, & it wavered from anthro to anthro as to who was taking the lead.

One hit &-Blaze was back in lead! With both opponents becoming worn out very quickly, it made their reaction time, as well as precision, weaker.

The scarlet echidna swung several hits, only scratching the surface of the cat's lilac fur. Sonic watched anxiously as he swung another & another, barely letting the cat in to hit him. The warning signs were appearing one by one with each hit.

_If the last warning sign shows up, then Blaze will be injured! & Knuckles is becoming tired, so he'll have trouble concentrating, which means…oh, no…Oh, no!_ the last of the signs appeared; Knuckles seemed to have trouble concentrating, which led to harder punches in his case.

Sonic watched & waited, waited on the edge of the ring until his razor-sharp instincts kicked in-which caused everything to happen so quickly, that it became a blurry mess as he struggled to open his eyes to see bright lights around him, then the pain, then something furry beneath him, as well as several people shouting, sirens wailing, & then something sharp inserted into his wrist, forcing everything to go black, into a dreamless sleep.

XXX

The steady, unidentifiable sound of slow beeping, voices, sounds, & telephones ringing became a chaotic medley as blue ears twitched, slowly moving around like little radars, almost immediately picking up the sounds with clarity but no identification of the sounds whatsoever as the owner's brain fell back into a state of numbed sleep.

XXX

Intense pain forced Sonic awake, "Ah…!" _Talk a about a wake-up call!_ he shot angrily, "Whuh hapfen?" he asked, his voice still weak from the medication.

A doctor in the room happened to catch his mumbling, "Mr. Maurice, are you awake?"

"Yeff…I'm awake." now more awake, he spoke clearer, but still he was hard to understand, "Wha happened?"

"During the boxing match between Blaze & Knuckles, you jumped out in front of the cat to take a fatal hit. You saved Blaze's life." he began, but stopped sadly, "Unfortunately, because you took that hit, multiple bones in your body broke, including your spine…"

Blue ears shot up at these words, brain registering slowly, but enough to comprehend after a moment, "My sfine?"

"Yes, your spine broke upon impact & damaged the spinal cord." he glanced away for a moment, "I'm afraid you're paralysed from the hips down, Sonic."

Now, wide awake, Sonic felt his blood run cold, "Paralysed? I'm paralysed? You mean I can't move my legs?"

"Yes. You cannot move anything from the hips down."

"Can't I stand upright?" the doctor shook his head, "Can I walk? _Run?_ _Sit_ upright?" again, the doctor shook his head, "Can't I do _anything?"_

"Well, yes, there are some things. You can still move around with therapy," he watched as Sonic's interest skyrocketed… "but in a wheelchair." …then shatter into a million little pieces.

"Oh…" cobalt ears flattened against their owner's skull, "No more running?"

"I'm afraid so, Sonic. Shadow now holds the title of the Fastest Thing Alive…" then he added to try to cheer up the hedgehog, "…on _skates."_

"Yeah, on skates." Sonic deadpanned before ignoring the doctor.

"I'll…check on you later." the doctor assured quietly, then left the hedgehog alone.

Hours passed & friends came & left. Knuckles, Silver, & Amy, were among the first.

"Hey." Knuckles knocked on the open door as he entered the room slowly, "May I come in?"

Sonic made no reaction when the echidna & the rest entered the white-walled room, which any germaphobe would either utterly hate, or love since it is both 100% clean & 100% filthy at the same time.

"Hey, Sonic. I-I heard the news-I'm really sorry." he began nervously. Quite uncharacteristic for the echidna to act like this. "You wouldn't be like this if I hadn't been paying more attention. I'm so sorry, Sonic."

The cobalt hedgehog's expression remained as a blank stare for quite some time before he said anything, "Knuckles…you didn't mean to do it." he said in barely a whisper, for he was still far too weak to speak, "You couldn't fully control this hit. I did it for Blaze so she wouldn't have to suffer the pain I'm suffering." little diamonds glistened in his emerald eyes, rolling down his cheeks, "I did it because I love her too much to see her in my state."

"Sonic, no…" the echidna watched the hedgehog take all the blame. He couldn't let Sonic take _everything_ for it. No…he just couldn't! No matter how many times that blue maniac would irritate him; he didn't want to see Sonic hurt. Never! It hurt _him_ much more to see the blue creature hurt like this.

"Don't blame yourself, Knux; it's not your fault." Sonic forced a smile, "It's nobody's fault."

The echidna nodded, a small portion of the large burden was gone now, & it made him feel a bit better, "Thanks, Buddy."

"Sonic?" Amy began, "I'm sorry. You really do love Blaze more than me. Don't you?"

Sonic couldn't nod, but if he could have, he would have done it faster than a heartbeat, "Yes, Amy, I do."

"I know…that now." she turned to leave.

"Amy, listen, I do love you, but as a little sister. Not anything more." he smiled at the female, "Okay?"

The pink one's heart grew lighter, but her head stayed down in humiliation, "Okay. Thank you, Sonic." she smiled at her blue friend, then turned to leave once more, that is, until Sonic called her back over.

"Hey, Ames," he called to the pink girl, "where's my hug?" he chuckled softly as Amy trotted back over to his bedside to give him a gentle hug, even though he couldn't lift his limbs, for it was painful to do so.

"Thank you, Sonic!"

"No, _thank you,_ Amy. I appreciate your hugs." he noticed the tears slipping down her face. Oh, how he wanted to dry them so, for he loved to see people happy instead of sad. Many could see that it hurt _him __**more**_ to see others hurt, "Don't cry. Smile." he tried, smiling at the pink female, "For me?"

Amy cracked a smile, "Okay. I will."

"Y'know, Sonic," Silver began softly, "you do love Blaze. A lot more than I do. I admit, I love her, but I couldn't do what you did for her in the past few days."

"Thanks Silv." he winked at the ivory hedgehog, "What'd you say about the last few days? How long have I been in here anyhow?"

"Almost two weeks. You were in a coma for twelve days." Silver explained, "You broke your entire right side-your shoulder, hip, ribs, & spine are broken-some shattered, & you have mild amnesia, so you won't remember much until a few days have passed."

"No wonder I can't remember anything." Sonic closed his eyes. He sometimes wished that he could sit upright instead of lying flat all of the time.

"Yeah." Silver smiled at Sonic, tears started welling up in eyes as he thought of his next sentence, "Take care of Blaze for me, please, Sonic?" he looked intently at emerald eyes, "You deserve her love more than I."

"Silver, that's what I should be asking you. Blaze doesn't love me; she's in love with you."

He shook his head, "No, she's not, Sonic; not anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"When she learned what you did for her, she started crying about how she loved you. She loves _you."_

"Yeah, but, that's only because I saved her, Silv. It's only temporary love."

"I…maybe. But whatever it is, she loves you right now, not me."

XXX

Just two days later, Sonic received an unexpected visitor.

His black & red counterpart strode quietly & mysteriously into the hospital room, "Here, I brought you this." he laid a card on the bedside tray.

"What is it?" Sonic asked, straining to see what it was. All he knew is that it was flat, & flimsy.

"Don't move, you'll hurt yourself, Sonic." he gently pressed against his ally's chest, forcing him to stay lying down, "Can you lift your arms, or is it still painful?"

"No. I can't."

He sighed, "Well, I guess I'll just read it to you."

"Read what?"

Shadow resisted the urge to slap Sonic silly, "The card!"

"You got a card for me?" Sonic asked, acting somewhat stupidly with a maniacal grin.

Shadow held the card's front up for his ally to see, "Well, no, I made it for you." he clarified. Though embarrassed, he hid his embarrassment as cleverly as a magician hiding his secrets.

"Oh! Neat!" Sonic's grin widened as he beheld a chilli dog on the front of the card, "A chilli dog!"

"I drew it since I couldn't find any other cards with chilli dogs on them."

"You drew that? By hand?" Sonic asked rather amazed, for he never suspected that his ebony counterpart could draw.

"Yeah." Shadow smiled humbly, "I taught myself how to draw."

"Cool. You are a great artist! I've never seen a chilli dog drawn this well before!" indeed, Shadow was good at drawing-the chilli dog looked so real, you could eat it! "Say, what does it say inside?"

"It says, "Sonic, I hope you'll get better soon. I know exactly what you are going through, both mentally, & physically. Shadow. P.S. Having no rivals at all is not the same without someone to rival with." "

"Heh, you're right, Shads, it is no fun without someone to share it with. But I don't think I'll be able to rival you anymore, you'll have to find someone else, like-" he thought for a moment, then, "like Luigi! You'll have to rival him like I used to Mario, because I'm paralysed now-permanently."

"I know." he let a smile crack slightly, "There are some things you are better at than I, though…"

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"Well, like at being nicer to people, & you're more social than I. Not to mention you always have & always will claim the title of the Fastest Thing Alive."

"Heh, Shads, I'm not _always_ nice to people, I sometimes jump on people unintentionally." he smiled sheepishly.

"That's true…" he mused.

"No. & as much as I love running & I miss it, you're the Fastest Thing Alive now, Shadow."

He shook his head in disagreement, "Hey, there's more things to life than running…like _love."_ he smiled warmly at the cobalt hedgehog, his counterpart, "I'll see you soon, little brother."

This warm address of "little brother" made Sonic smile, not only because it was accurate since Shadow was much older than he was, but also because he had always thought of Shadow as a brother at some points, & had sensed that Shadow thought of him as a brother also. This, neither would ever admit to & probably still never will, "Okay, big bro." he winked at his friend, smiling as the ebony one chuckled, then left.

XXX

A morning several days after Sonic woke from a coma…

A lilac cat lay huddled on her bed. She wanted no part in anything. No one to bother her. All she wanted was to be left alone.

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_ the cat knew that someone was knocking at the door, but ignored whoever it was.

"Blaze?" said a familiar voice from the other side of the door, "Blaze, may I come in? I want to talk with you."

"Lemme alone." she mumbled quietly. She knew who this was, but she still didn't want to see her closest friend.

"Blaze, I'm coming in, in three seconds. You had better be dressed." he warned, "One…"

"Silver, no!"

"Two…"

"Silver, don't come in!"

"Three…I'm coming in." he open the door slowly, & peeking in, saw the cat holding blankets up to her chest, covering the delicate-like nightgown she had on, "Blaze, you don't need to hide. You can't see though your nightgown." he offered in hopes to get the cat to relax a little. He didn't know why she was acting like this, for he had always came to visit the cat in the mornings, even when she was still dressed in nightclothes (-they did nothing intimate.)

"I-I know…" she admitted softly.

"Blaze, I think you should go talk to Sonic; he's a little hurt that you haven't come to see him yet." he sat beside the feline, "You haven't gone a single time since he first went into the hospital. Is there something wrong, Blaze?" he flinched when the cat began whimpering softly, then jumped when she turned & buried her face in his fluffy white chest fur. He stroked her fur gently, comforting her, "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

A few moments later, she blurted out in between sobs, "I feel terrible! He jumped in, took the hit, & lost something he enjoys dearly all for me! & what do I give him in thanks? Nothing. No love in return." she looked up at her silver friend, "That's what _true love_ is, Silver. It is sacrificing everything for the ones you love-even if it means your life. & Sonic almost got killed from Knuckles's punch."

The ivory male nodded, "Yes, that is true." then he said thoughtfully, "Love is like the Rose & her Thorn. The Rose cannot survive without her Thorn to protect her, just as a male protects his female. The Thorn takes all of the bite wounds & gnawing from animals to protect the Beautiful Rose while she is still in her Bud. Then, when Time has passed, the Bud blooms into the Beautiful Rose-her flawless petals, & rich burgundy colour is what the Thorn protected, because he loves her, & to her does he cleave to for the rest of his life." he caressed her face, brushing hair out of it, "& you, Blaze, are the Rose that Sonic protects."

She looked up, blushing at his words, "I-I am?"

"Yes, you are." a little diamond slipped down his tan face as he kissed her cheek knowing this would be the last time he could do so, "I love you, but you're Sonic's Rose now, Blaze."

She nodded slowly, "We're still friends, right, Silvey?" she teased him, using his nickname in hopes of cheering him up.

"Sure." he hugged her, "Now," he said thoughtfully, glancing toward her closet, "let's find something for you to wear so you can go see Sonic."

Smiling, she nodded in agreement with his proposal.

XXX

The violet cat & ivory hedgehog entered the hospital entrance, & walking up to the information desk, inquired about the cat's cobalt friend.

"Yes, Mr. Maurice is on floor five, room 506."

"Room 506?" the nurse nodded, "Okay, thank you ma'am."

"You're welcome."

Blaze & Silver made her way to the elevators, though Blaze rode nervously as her predestined floor approached.

Several thoughts raced across her mind on how Sonic would react to seeing her, & also how she would react on seeing him. She wondered if he would forgive her for not coming to see him these past few days.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the elevator chime chimed & the doors slid open, revealing the inane hallway of the hospital, "This is our stop." Silver motioned to the hallway, but when the cat didn't move, he gently grasped her in a hug, "Don't worry. He'll be happy to see you, Blaze."

"I-I don't know…" she leaned against her friend, "Silver, are you sure?"

"I'm sure I'm sure." he reassured the female.

She nodded, "Okay." then stepped out of the elevator with Silver.

They started down the hallway for a short distance when Silver suddenly stopped, "Aren't you coming, Silver?"

"No." he shook his head, "You go on ahead. I'll meet you in a few minutes."

"Alright. Thanks, Silver." she smiled, leaving the hedgehog behind, then proceeded down the pale blue corridor to Sonic's room, where she stopped at its entrance.

She peered into the room. It was empty. The hedgehog was nowhere to be seen, spare for the patients lying on the beds.

She looked back up at the door's number. This was 506 all right, but Sonic wasn't there. Had he checked out? He couldn't have. He needed to let his bones heal, unless they used that new medicine that healed bones at least 80% faster than the traditional method of Nature.

She blinked, _Where is he? Is he gone? Dead?_ she cringed at the last word. She knew that Knuckles's hit was fatal, but she knew that Sonic could survive most anything with flying colours (take the Death Egg, for instance).

She turned around, firmly pressing her back against the wall & closing her eyes. The rims of her eyelids quickly became moist, "Where is he?" her voice became strained as she thought of him.

From a distance, Silver watched as she dropped to her knees on the cool floor, sobbing. All she wanted was to see her friend, her new love-she wanted to tell him that she loved him so much. He was about to go over to her, when he noticed someone approaching her instead…

The floor made a gentle clicking sound, which gradually grew louder as the source approached the cat.

"Where's who?" said a familiar voice.

The cat looked up from her position to see the cobalt hedgehog sitting in front of her in a wheelchair. He gently cocked his head at her, smiling.

"Sonic?" she sat up, looking at the hedgehog, tears suddenly began forming as she beheld him, "You're…in a…?"

Olgilvie glanced down at his mode of transportation, "Wheelchair." he finished, "I'm…paralysed." those words still stung whenever he said them.

"Paralysed? You're paralysed?" she whispered.

Sonic nodded.

She shook her head, realising what he did for her, "I-I would have been in your position if you hadn't taken that hit for…me." she felt tears welling up in her eyes again, then she felt Sonic's gentle touch on her face.

"I did it because I love you, & I don't want to see you in my position." he gently grasped her hands in his, "I love you, Blaze."

She blushed, looking deep into his emerald eyes, "I love you too, Sonic."

He leaned toward the lilac female, gently cupping her chin in his hand, "Don't cry." he wiped the tears with his handkerchief. He studied her yellow-gold eyes, then, bringing her face toward his, their faces brushed against each other as they met in a loving kiss.

When they opened their eyes once again, each noticed the other was blushing.

"I missed you so much, Sonic." the cat hugged the hedgehog, never wanting to let him go for anything, "I wanted to see you so much, but I didn't know how you would react." she cried softly into his shoulder.

"What do you mean? How I'd react about what?"

"About how I treated you. I didn't come to visit, I yelled at you the last time I saw you, I was just rude to you, & you still took that hit for me."

He looked to her partially surprised, "Why would I be mad at you? I love you. I don't care about those things, all I care about is seeing you safe."

"You forgive me?"

"Hm-mm. I forgive you. I always will." he held her in his arms, "Now no more crying, okay?" he wiped her tears once more.

"Okay. I won't cry."

"Good. I don't like seeing you cry. You look prettier when you don't."

She nudged his side, smiled mischievously at him, "Oh, you…"

He laughed nervously, but giddily, "What?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, nothing…" she nuzzled against him. "Oh. I almost forgot. Silver's waiting for us."

"Did he come too?"

"Yup. He's waiting by the elevators."

"Well, let's not keep him waiting." he started rolling the wheelchair toward the elevators, "Let's go."

"Heh, here." she grasped the handles of the chair, pushing it for the hedgehog.

"Hey!" he teased, "How am I ever going to learn how to turn this thing with you pushing?"

She giggled in response, then leaned down to kiss his peach-coloured cheek, "You will in due time."

Down the hallway, Silver came up to meet them, "Hiya, Sonic!" he greeted them, but then seemed to act nervously when he comprehended that his fast friend was in a wheelchair, "How're…you doing, Sonic?"

Sonic quickly noticed Silver's anxiety, for he knew the hedgehog to be a rather anxious in these types of situations, "Silver, you don't have to act this way."

"I-I…know." grabbing his arm, he started rubbing his shoulder nervously, "It's just that-you're in a…wheelchair."

He sighed, "I know. There's nothing we can do to change it." he inched the wheelchair toward the elevator, "I'll learn to like it sooner or later."

"Yeah." he continued rubbing his arm nervously, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Eh, yeah, there are a few things. But let's talk later about it." he very subtly motioned to Blaze.

"Oh." he perked up in realisation, "Okay. Let's go back to the Olympic Grounds & find the others."

"Okay."

"Oh, boy, I almost forgot." he slapped his face in disgust as they exited the hospital & beheld some news reporters along the sidewalks & patios of the hospitals.

"What?" he backed away when he noticed the reporters, "You mean those guys?"

"Yeah. They've wanted interviews since the day you got hurt, & the paparazzi have been following us _everywhere."_

"Oh, great."

"Let's just get out of here." Blaze pushed the wheelchair slightly faster, in hopes that the reporters would not spot them.

One reporter, unfortunately, spotted them & started running toward them, "There they are!"

"Yeah, there he is!"

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Silver took over Blaze's position, & started pushing the wheelchair along the sidewalk & down the street into the downtown area of London.

"Quick! Down this way!" Blaze motioned to a secluded road up ahead.

"Did we lose them?" Sonic glanced back to see if there were any stragglers following.

"Not yet! Look!" Blaze pointed to a reporter taking pictures not far from them.

A shrill whistle broke into the tense atmosphere, "Quick!" shouted a familiar voice, "Down this way!"

The trio complied, following the stranger down an alley & out of sight for a few minutes.

Sonic looked around for the person who called them down this alley, "Who is it?"

"Me." a black & red figure stepped out of the shadows, "I saw what happened & I Chaos Controlled down this way to help you out." he walked slowly toward the three, "No one who has just had this bad of an accident & just came out of the hospital should not be treated in this way."

Sonic shook his head in disgust, "Yeah. I'm still learning how to turn this thing around & I come face to face with a camera!"

"I know how that feels…" Shadow glanced away. Past memories that hurt, began to flood his mind with incredible detail. Ignoring this, he immediately shouted, "CHAOS CONTROL!" allowing them to return to the Olympic Grounds where they would be safe.

Reappearing at the Grounds, Shadow started off in another direction, but Sonic called back to him, "Uhm, Shadow?"

"What?" he stopped, turning around & putting on a straight face.

"What were you talking about when you came to visit me? You said that you know what I'm-"

"I'll tell you later."

"What do you mean?" the ivory hedgehog studied his friend's eyes: he could see the hurt in them, "Are you okay, Shads?"

In response, he received a glare, "My name is "Shadow," not "Shads," Silver." he corrected.

Silver's ears flattened in embarrassment, "Yeah, I know. Sorry."

"It's okay. Just don't let it happen again." he turned away closing his eyes, then continued on their original subject, "I once broke my back when I was on ARK, & I couldn't walk either. I was paralysed also."

"Y-you were?" Sonic & Silver both said at the same time, & both were shocked to hear this. Even Blaze.

"I couldn't walk for quite some time" Shadow continued, "until I had a surgery that enabled me to walk again. After that, I had to wear these hover skates the Professor made which would help me walk because without them, I walk with a very bad limp."

"Is that why you never take those off unless you're going to bed?"

Shadow nodded, "Yes, it is. I can't walk correctly without them." he stepped towards them, meanwhile indicating the sound of pressurised air that escaped from the bottom of his shoes, "The air prevents me from limping."

"Oh…"

Sonic thought thoughtfully, "But how can you run at supersonic speeds? Wouldn't that be difficult to control the air or something?"

"It was difficult to skate at high speeds first, but I've learned how to skate with ease now." he simply stated, "& it is _skate,_ not _run,_ Sonic. I am exactly like you-I cannot run anymore. Only skate."

"Oh…that makes sense." he smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I didn't know that you can't run." he tried rolling his wheelchair out of the grass & mud, but failed miserably.

"Don't worry about it." he gave a light smile to his friend as he pushed him back to the sidewalk.

"Alright, I won't. & thanks, Shadow." he smiled at his friend, receiving an even bigger smile than before, back.

"You're welcome." he pushed his cobalt friend's wheelchair down the sidewalk & to the men's dorms, "C'mon, Sonic, the others are waiting to see you."

"& I'm waiting to see them!" he turned around, facing the silver hedgehog, "You coming Silver? Blaze?"

"Hey!" he shot back embarrassed as he & Blaze ran up to Sonic & Shadow, "Yeah, we're coming!"

A few minutes later, they could hear a voice with an Italian accent coming from one of the rooms. They knew this to be either Mario or Luigi.

"Hey, guys!" Sonic knocked on the door loudly to get their attention, "It's me, Sonic! & I'm back!"

The wooden door flew open, revealing the moustachioed plumbers, "Sonico! We've missed you!"

"How're you feeling?"

"Yeah. Eh…are you paralysed permanently now?"

"If I wasn't paralysed, I'd be outta this chair faster than you can blink." he spat sarcastically at the wheeled-chair he sat in, "Yeah, I'm paralysed."

"Aw, really?"

He nodded, "Yeah, but saving Blaze's life was more important. I'll soon be able to walk & run again, but not here." he indicated _somewhere_ which was past the ceiling-even past the _sky!_

Mario smiled, "Sì, you got-a that right, Sonico!"

"So, you &-a Blaze are-a dating now?"

"I'll say." Sonic hugged the cat who stood beside him with one arm, "Though, we haven't gone on one yet."

"Oh, you will." Shadow chuckled as little wheels in his head started turning, "If not today, it will be tomorrow."

Sonic noticed Shadow's mischievous grin, "Aye, what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You two will soon go out on a date." the ebony one answered back smugly.

"Whatever." he brushed aside Shadow's usual cockiness & continued talking with the Marios as Shadow pulled Silver away from the group.

"Silver, I have a plan to get those two on their first date." he whispered, "Want to help me?"

The ivory male glanced from Shadow to Sonic & Blaze, then back again. He wanted then both to be happy, "I'm in."

"Okay, first, we need to keep Sonic & Blaze away from the park so we can get it set up."

"I know! Tails could take them to them somewhere."

"Yeah! Where is he?"

"In his room-I'll get him & explain the situation to him."

"Okay. But make sure to tell him to not tell Sonic or Blaze!"

"I will make sure of that!"

Minutes later, Silver had recruited the kitsune to take his older brother & his new girlfriend on a late afternoon ride in the _X Tornado_ while the others prepared an area for the two's First Date…

"Hey, Tails…" Sonic glanced out the window of the airplane, "where're we going?"

"You'll see soon." he smiled, knowing this would be a long ride…

XXX

"Where are we going to set this up? London's _huge!"_

"Well, there's always the rest of Britain, Wales, Scotland, & the rest of the provinces."

"& France, & Germany, & Italy, &-"

"Would you shut up?" Shadow's temper flared, "We can't go that far! If we did, we might as well all go back to Japan!"

"It was just a suggestion!" Silver's ears flattened in disgust, "Besides, I was staying in Europe…"

"Let's just stay in _London."_

"But _where_ in London?""Well, there's always Big Ben, a stroll past the Birmingham Palace, or the countryside." Shadow counted off different places with his fingers, "Or there might be a river near here."

The ivory hedgehog slapped his forehead, "I don't even think the Birmingham Palace is located _in London,_ nor do I think Sonic would ever go near water again in his condition."

"Oh, yeah, that's right. Then it's either the countryside or Big Ben."

"Big Ben makes too much noise."

"But you could easily get lost in the countryside too."

"Yeah, that's right."

Both sighed in frustration. They needed to find a place to set up as soon as possible if they were going to pull this one off tonight.

XXX

Flying around for hours in the _X Tornado,_ Sonic & Blaze made their own First Date…

"Oh, Sonic, look at that! Isn't the countryside beautiful?" Blaze gazed at the Welsh countryside.

"Heh, but not as beautiful as you, Blaze."

"Oh, Sonic…"

"What?"

"Nothing." she smiled as the fox kit just smiled & continued flying around, showing them more of the beautiful countryside.

XXX

"Tails, we've been flying around for hours!" the cat peered out into pink clouds, "When are we going to land?"

"Yeah." Sonic tried sitting forward to lessen the rhythmic drumming of his back against the seat of the plane, "My back is starting to hurt from all the movement too."

"It is?"

"Yeah. Can we please just land?"

"Uhm, yeah, sure." the kit didn't know what else to do, but land, they were several hundred miles from London, & he wasn't sure if Sonic could ride back either.

"Where are we anyway?"

"Half way across Wales." he yawed the plane to the right & toward flatter land, "Buckle up guys. We're going to land in less than three minutes."

"Okay. I'm ready." he managed to turn in his seat to see the female behind him, "Blaze, are you?"

"I'm ready."

"I'm going to land in thirty seconds."

"I'm ready for whatever c-co-" the fact that Sonic is now paralysed, & the sudden jerk of the plane hitting the ground, forced the hedgehog to lose his position on the seat & slip down back into his seat, "-omes!"

Once the plane had come to a full halt, the kitsune turned to see his brother sitting lopsided in his seat. He suppressed a smile, "Are-are you okay back there?"

"Do I look okay?"

That was it. He couldn't hold back any more giggles, for the next thing next knew, he had burst out laughing at his brother's words, "You look so funny Sonic!"

The hedgehog examined himself the best he could from his position, smiled, then chuckled, "Heh, I guess I do look pretty funny."

"You do indeed, Sonic!" Blaze tried to hide her giggles.

"Need some help, Olgilvie?" the kit reached down to help his brother back into his seat.

"Tails!" he whispered harshly with as a crimson blush crept on his face, "I told you not to use my real name!"

"Sorry Sonic." the kit smiled sheepishly.

He smiled at his little brother, hoping to make amends for scolding him so harshly, "Ah, it's okay, kiddo. Just use "Sonic" more often. Okay?"

"Okay." he whispered back.

He took his brother's hand, & climbed back into his seat, "Thanks Tails."

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Uh, it's nothing, Blaze." he smiled nervously, "Uhm, Tails, can you help me out of this thing?"

"Yeah, just let me get your wheelchair first." he hopped off the plane's wing & flew with his twin-tails to storage area on the plane.

"Here, let me help you Tails." Blaze jumped out of the plane, landing near the kit.

"Thanks Blaze!" he & the cat pulled Sonic's wheelchair off one of the built-in shelves & set it up.

She climbed back up to where Sonic sat waiting, rather impatiently, "Aw, c'mon; where's your patience, Sonic?"

"Back where I left it."

"Heh, tough. Learn to have some patience now." she reached down to pull him out of his seat.

"Uhm, Blaze, how are you going to lift me out when I'm heavier than you?"

"With Tails's help." she indicated the fox standing beside her.

"Ready Blaze?"

"Ready."

"Okay, I'll pick him up by his waist, you get his legs."

"Hey, Sonic's too heavy for you too, kiddo."

"Yeah, he is. We could always radio Shadow & ask for his help."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You really think Shadow is going to come out here just to get me out of this cockpit?"

"Well, it's worth a try." he picked up the radio & tuned it to the correct station to get London, "Hello? _X Tornado_ calling Shadow at the Olympic Grounds."

XXX

"Hmm?" Mario heard a muffled voice coming Sonic & Tails's side of the room. He approached it slowly, "Salve?"

"Hello?" said the voice again, "Hello, anyone there?"

He recognised the voice to be Tails's, "Ah, sì, it's-a me, Mario, Tails." he followed the voice a box under the kit's bed, "Hello? Hello?"

"Hello, Mario?"

"Ciao, Tails! Where are you?"

"In Wales."

"Wales? You-a flew all the way out-a there?"

"Yeah. Sonic's back was hurting him, so we had to land."

"Oh…"

"Say, Mario, is Shadow there?"

"Sì, sì, Ombra is-a here."

"Ombra?"

"It's-a Italian for Shadow's name."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, I'll-a be back!"

"Thanks Mario!"

"Prego-you're-a welcome!"

XXX

Sonic rested his elbow against the wall of the plane. Looking around he noticed something, "Hey, Blaze, look at that!" he whispered, pointing to the front wheel of the _X Tornado._

"Aw! It's cute! …whatever it is."

"It's a wild hedgehog."

"A hedgehog? Oh, yeah, I forgot we were on Earth."

"Yup, & animals on Earth are different than the ones on Mobius-like us."

"Aw, he's still cute!"

"Heh, Blaze, I think he's a _she."_ he moved his hands around his stomach, "She's pregnant with little ones."

"Really?" she watched the she-hog, "I wonder how many babies hedgehogs can have?"

"About four to eight. Depends on the breed."

"How many could she have?"

"She's a European hedgehog breed, so she'd have about four. Which I think is odd, 'cause the smaller breeds usually have litters of about eight." he laughed as the hedgehog rolled into a little brown ball, "Okay, sweetie, we'll leave you be. Come up here. She getting a little scared."

"Naw, I don't want her to be scared!" she complied, standing up & moving closer to the inner part of the wing.

"She'll be alright, Blaze, she's lived her whole life in the wild, so she knows what to do."

"Yeah, I guess so…but we have another hedgehog to worry about." she nuzzled her muzzle against Sonic's, "I love you."

He blushed, making the cat giggle in response, "Love you too, Blaze."

XXX

Minutes later, Mario came back with both Shadow & Silver.

"Tails? Mario said you wanted to talk with me."

"Uhm, yeah…we can't get Sonic" he glanced back to the hedgehog, "out of the cockpit. We need some help."

"Why? Can't you get him out?"

"No. Blaze & I both tried; Sonic's too heavy for both of us to lift."

"Don't worry Tails," Silver began, "we'll come help you guys out."

"Okay, thanks guys!"

"Where are you?"

"About two hundred miles into Wales."

"Okay. We'll be there in a few minutes." Shadow replaced the mouthpiece back on its space on the radio, "Sometimes…" he scowled.

"Aw, c'mon Shadow. You & I both know that the kit can't lift Sonic." he nudged his relative, "Consider it a compliment he choose _you_ to help."

"Compliment or not; we can't waste any more time lollygagging around."

"Chaos Controlling for five minutes is wasting time?"

"It's out in Wales, Silver."

"Count all the dosh in the bank! We're wasting more time here than we are helping Miles than we are getting back to our work."

"Don't you mean "greenbacks?" "

"Dosh, greenbacks, whatever! Let's get going!" he fished around for his Green Chaos Emerald which usually hides in his head-quills, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

Before the white-green flash of light filled the room, Silver noticed that Shadow turned away from his friend. He was upset about something, but trying to pry it out of him was difficult, especially since the ebony hedgehog showed only subtle emotions, something of which one who knew him well could spot during certain events.

Just a moment ago, however, Shadow seemed to let his bottled emotions spill. But, why? Shadow knows…

XXX

They were in a forest now. It was dark, but if you looked closely, you could still make out the things around you.

Shadow sighed. He was never going to be able to spend time with Silver getting everything ready. For one thing, he was almost clueless on how to make friends, let alone learning how to get to know people, except for Maria.

Silver glanced up at his ebony friend, "What's wrong?"

"…nothing."

"Shadow?"

For some reason, he wanted to hear Silver call him something else, but he couldn't recall what it was he wanted to hear, "Sil…ver…" he turned away toward the _X Tornado,_ "Let's go."

XXX

"Heya, guys!" Tails ran up to the ebony & the ivory hedgehogs, "Sonic's over here in the _X Tornado."_ he led the two up to the cockpit.

"Hey, guys." Sonic smiled at the two looking down at him, "Heh, a little father & son job?"

Shadow glanced away, hurt, "Uh, yeah, father & son…"

"Shadow, what's wrong?"

"You okay?" Silver watched his father worriedly, "Sha-uh…Dad?"

The darkest of the three looked up with his eyes slightly, but let them drop back to the ground. He reached down to pick Sonic up, "Come on, let's get you out of there."

"I've got his legs." Silver grasped dangling blue legs, lifting them up & over the cockpit.

"Thanks, Shadow, Silver. We couldn't have gotten Sonic outta there without your help." the lilac cat held the wheelchair in place as Shadow placed Sonic in it.

"You're welcome." Shadow laid his hand on Sonic's shoulder, forcing a smile.

"Yeah, if you need anymore help, just call for us."

"Where are you guys going to be?"

"Ah, we…have to get some stuff ready for later."

"Yeah, it's for to-" a hand over his mouth shut Silver up.

"Silver!" Shadow scolded.

The blue hedgehog watched amusedly, letting his curiosity get the best of him, "What is it?"

"Uhm, it's for a…" he had to think quickly without giving away their surprise!

"It's a surprise for a friend of ours!" Silver cut in.

"Yeah, a friend."

"Well, who is it?"

"A friend of the family is visiting."

"Really? Cool."

"Heh, yeah. We'd better get going." Silver glanced to his father, "Right?"

"You'd better take us with you. Our date has come to an end since I can't ride back in the _X Tornado_ because of my back hurting."

"Your date?" both the black & the white hedgehogs exclaimed at once.

"Yeah. Tails offered to take us around England in the airplane, so we just made it our first date tonight."

"He did?" Silver shot a glance to the kit, mouthing the words, "Why'd you do that for?"

The kit mouthed back, "I thought you wanted me to."

"No!"

Sonic scooted closer, "Is…something wrong?"

"Uh, well…actually…" Silver bit his lip nervously, "We were planning a date for you guys tonight, but it seems Tails beat us to it."

"We asked if he could take you guys on a flight so Silver & I could set up a few things back home."

"You were?" Blaze squealed with delight, "Ah, that was sweet of you guys!"

"Heh, yeah," Sonic smiled at the two hedgehogs & fox kit, blushing, "you guys are softies."

"Well, yeah. We just want you guys to be happy." Silver looked over at his lilac friend.

"It's the least we could do to show our appreciation for you."

"Yeah, even though it's mushy!" Tails scrunched up his face.

"Ah, come here you little bugger!" Sonic scooped his little brother up into his lap, nuzzling him with the kit giggling in surprise, "You're such a mischievous little fox!"

"Yup!" he answered back in glee.

"Thanks you guys for setting this up."

"You're welcome." he pulled out his Green Chaos Emerald, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

XXX

"I wish there was something we could do to thank you guys for your "father & son" work." again, at Sonic's mention of "father & son," Shadow's face dropped to sadness.

"You don't have to; it's a gift."

"Yeah. We did it because we love you."

"You sure?"

"We're sure."

"Shads, are you okay?" Sonic watched his ebony friend worriedly, "You seem to get upset whenever I mention you guys being father & son."

"Yeah, what's wrong Dad?"

Shadow fidgeted with his glove. He was trapped-he had to answer, "Well, Silver, you know…we don't know each other very well as father & son since I never got to spend time with you when you were younger…I was kinda hoping we could use the time of setting the date to spend time together." a single tear appeared in his eyes, "But I guess it didn't really work out."

"Daddy," Silver smiled when he saw his father, Shadow, smile widely at the new name he gave him "I want to spend more tie with you too, but everytime I try, it always seems to be crushed by something else."

"Yeah." he hugged his son back, "I want to too."

"Can we?"

"Sure. I've been wanting to spend more time with you for such a long time!" he laid his hand on Silver's shoulder, "Let's have our own father & son night tonight. Okay?"

"Yeah! I'd love that, Dad! Could we go stargazing?"

"Anything you want, as long as we're together." Shadow smiled at Sonic, whispering, "Thank you."

"No problem, Shadow." he whispered back, then called after the father & son, "See ya, guys!"

Blaze watched the two retreating hedgehogs run off the grounds, then out to the outskirts of the city, "I'm glad that they are getting to be near each other now."

"Yeah, without them trying to set up a date for us," he touched the cat's gloved hand, bringing it closer to him, "we wouldn't have gotten them together." then, without a second thought, he kissed the cat, who blushed in surprise, "I love you, Blaze."

She smiled, "Oh, Sonic…"

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing…" she leaned against her beau, "I just love you, is all."

"I'm glad of that." he grinned, then tickled her waist, "Tickle bug attack!"

"Sonic, Sonic! No!" she laughed, tickling back.

"No mercy for the cat!" he cried playfully as she let out a squeal.

Not long after they crawled onto the grass to watch the Stars, all four of the stargazers drifted off to sleep, each curled up next to the other until morning.

**A/N: Well…what do you think? I know, I know. It seems choppy to me, but I kinda lost interest when I couldn't figure out how to get Shadow & Silver plan a date, & when I made them father & son. I like them as father & son ^^ & I couldn't really figure out how to end the story either. Sorry about that, guys ^^* my bad.**

**Oh, & another thing, I have no idea if boxing IS a sport in the Olympics. I had to figured out something to get Sonic injured, or else the story would be in ancient ruins.**

**So, anywho, ciao for now! & look forward to my future stories as well as a chappie update on TASH&MB2!**

**Andi**


End file.
